Bergson's Theory of Knowledge and Einstein's Theory of Relativity

From The Philosopher,Volume. II, 1924
Bergson's Theory of Knowledge and Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
By Professor Wildon Carr

EPITOME OF LECTURE given on November 7th, at the Lyceum Club
2000 - the Editor adds:
In this early paper from the Journal, delivered orally, as was the then fashion, Professor Wildon Carr offers an holistic account of life, the universe and everything...
The title of my lecture may suggest that I am going to undertake the ambitious task of , expounding two important and most complex theories in one short discourse. It is however one subject only which I have in mind, namely, the extraordinary revolution in the fundamental conceptions of philosophy and science which marks the first quarter of this twentieth century. I going to speak of Bergson's and Einstein's theories as the most striking illustrations of the new ideas which l can think of.
I recollect, when I was a lad, being very impressed by a sermon I heard by a well-known clergyman who professed a liberal form of religion which he called Theism. (Rev. C. Voysey). He closed an eloquent peroration by saying that there was one human science in which God and Man were on the same plane - this was mathematics. It was impossible even for God to think that twice two is four is untrue. In this he was expressing a fundamental conception which was formulated by Descartes at the beginning of modern philosophy, and which became firmly established as the basis of the scientific discoveries of the nineteenth century. The nineteenth century was dominated by the idea of the positivity of natural science The great philosopher of the latter part of that century, Herbert Spencer, expressed it in his doctrine of the Unknowable.
Science was a realm of clear positive knowledge; in scientific facts, and more especially still in mathematical principles, the human mind touched the absolute; but surrounding this realm was a murky, obscure, indefinite region in which the human mind could find no sure foothold. This region was not only unknown, but unknowable, because when we tried to apply principles within it we inevitably fell into contradiction.
He named this realm the "unknowable" and suggested that we might be reverent towards it as it contained the object of religious belief. This position was generally accepted by all the great scientific leaders and researchers of the last generation. Today, there is the most complete change.
We might almost say that men of science today are more confident that they know the conditions of that realm which Spencer called the unknowable than they are that they have any absolute knowledge of those near at hand facts which are the subject of the sciences.
The change in the modern outlook has come along two distinct and different lines, because there are two factors in knowledge. These are first the activity of the mind in knowing, and second, the activity of the world in revealing itself . To illustrate the change which has these two lines I have chosen a theory of Bergson and a theory of Einstein. They are quite independent and unconnected, but together they show two aspects of the change, the one its subjective, the other its objective aspect.
Bergson has told us that he was led to doubt the absolute nature of the human intellect by the scientific observations of the great French entomologist, J. H. Fabre. These observations led to the conclusion that the form of mentality in insects was an entirely different mode of consciousness to that which we find in ourselves. What seemed to be clear, moreover, was that the mode of consciousness which was active in insects was peculiarly suited to the needs of their existence and to the kind of actions they were required to perform and to the range of their activity.
It appeared to Bergson that the intellect of higher animals and of us human beings might in like manner be a mode of consciousness which was a product of evolution and designed for our special needs. This led to his theory of knowledge. The intellect, he held is not designed for speculation but for action, and for speculation only in so far as it serves action. We do not contemplate reality. Our life consists in a readiness for action, and our attitude is one of forward-looking to the actions which we are preparing. The intellect is the form of mentality which serves us in our life activity. It does not reveal things as they are, but it frames the actions which serve us in our life activity. It frames the changing, stream of existence, making it assume the staid forms of spatial things. It geometrizes space and it spatializes time.
Let us now turn to the other aspect of the revolution, its objective side. The world as Newton conceived it: a structureless, infinite space and a time flowing at rate, seemed to philosophers and men of science of the last century to involve no hypothesis but to be a simple acceptance of fact at its clear face-value. When Newton discovered the law of gravitation, and could express it in a formula which applied universally, it appeared as though the secure foundations of physical science were laid on an objective basis. There was, however, a very troublesome inconsistency in the conception. The law of gravitation postulated universal attraction, and if the universe really is infinite in space and time, how are we to account for the fact that masses of matter are distributed throughout it. In infinite time, the attractive force must have brought all into one central mass. It would be impossible in this lecture to indicate the various observations which have thrown doubt on Newton's universe of infinite space and time and have led finally to its rejection. Einstein has now given to science an entirely new concept of the universe, the concept of a universe which is finite and yet unbounded. I may enable you to get a rough picture of the idea by asking you to imagine yourselves living in a sphere in which you can move freely but in which every movement towards the circumference involves a flattening of your proportions with its limit in complete flatness at the circumference in such a universe space would not be structureless, for your shape would depend on your postion.
If we take the course of science generally we see that it has been helped forward in its progress by invention. It was the telescope which enabled Galileo to demonstrate the truth of the Copernican theory and led to the momentous discovery that light ins not instantaneous, but has a definite interval of time in its propagation. It was the microscope which revealed the new worlds within worlds. But both these instruments seemed to confirm the view that science was confined to a realm of clear knowledge with undefined boundaries. In the later half of last century a new instrument was invented, the spectroscopes, which has not only extend our knowledge of nature but revolutionised it. Unlike the telescope and the microscope, which continue our unaided observation, the spectroscope takes us as it were at a bound to the limits of the universe an shows us how is its constituted. the new electric theory of matter and the secret of atomic structure is what it has revealed.
But the most revolutionary discovery of modern science concerns the principle of discovery itself. We are observers of nature, but the nature we observe consists of systems moving relatively to one another. There is no system or place in a system which is absolute, so that by reference to it we may determine absolutely the velocity of a movement. Yet to measure the movement of any system we must adopt a standpoint. This is Einstein's principle of relativity. Every observer of nature measuring phenomena takes a frame of reference and whatever frame he chooses it must be for him a system at rest. Thus just as we saw in Bergson's theory when we considered the subjective factor, or mind, or intellect, so in Einstein's theory when we consider the objective factor, the world, or universe, we have nothing absolute to refer to.
In the beginning of philosophy, Descartes conceived nature as a system. Creation, he said, was the imparting of movement to extension, and movement must produce a vortex system and this was the world. Newton rejected this as a hypothesis and accepted space and time as the background of movement, the velocity of which might be infinite. Einstein has brought us back to concept of the nature as a system, and Bergson has given us the concept of our intellect as itself a product of creative evolution. On each side, mind and nature, the idea of the absolute - absolute knowledge of absolute reality - has given place to the principle of relativity.

US is Top Seller of Arms to the Developing World

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 — "The United States maintained its role as the leading supplier of weapons to the developing world in 2006, followed by Russia and Britain, according to a Congressional study to be released Monday. Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia were the top buyers.

The global arms market is highly competitive, with manufacturing nations seeking both to increase profits and to expand political influence through weapons sales to developing nations, which reached nearly $28.8 billion in 2006."

Pakistan was a major recipient of American arms sales in 2006, including the $1.4 billion purchase of 36 new F-16C/D fighter aircraft and $640 million in missiles and bombs. The deal included a package for $890 million in upgrades for Pakistan’s older versions of the F-16.
At the same time, the State Department’s own survey of global human rights in 2006 noted a variety of shortcomings in Pakistan’s record on human rights and democratization.
But the Bush administration has argued that it is important to maintain the support of a nuclear-armed Pakistan in the broader counterterrorism fight, in particular as Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders regroup in the rugged North-West Frontier Province along the Afghan border."

- NY Times.

Meaning of Ahimsa by Sri Swami Sivananda

"Ahimsa or non-injury, of course, implies non-killing. But, non-injury is not merely non-killing. In its comprehensive meaning, Ahimsa or non-injury means entire abstinence from causing any pain or harm whatsoever to any living creature, either by thought, word, or deed. Non-injury requires a harmless mind, mouth, and hand. Ahimsa is not mere negative non-injury. It is positive, cosmic love. It is the development of a mental attitude in which hatred is replaced by love. Ahimsa is true sacrifice. Ahimsa is forgiveness. Ahimsa is Sakti (power). Ahimsa is true strength.

There is one religion - the religion of love, of peace. There is one message, the message of Ahimsa. Ahimsa is a supreme duty of man.

The power of Ahimsa is greater than the power of the intellect. It is easy to develop the intellect, but it is difficult to purify and develop the heart. The practice of Ahimsa develops the heart in a wonderful manner. He who practices Ahimsa develops strong will-power. In his presence, enmity ceases. In his presence, cobra and frog, cow and tiger, cat and rat, wolf and lamb, will all live together in terms of intimate friendship.

Ahimsa is never a policy. It is a sublime virtue. It is the fundamental quality of seekers after Truth. No Self-realization is possible without Ahimsa. Whoever wishes to realize the Truth must practice Ahimsa. There is a hidden power in Ahimsa which protects its practitioners. The invisible hand of God gives protection. There is no fear. What can pistols and swords do ?"

Ahimsa = non-violence, by Gandhi

"Literally speaking, ahimsa means non-violence. But to me it has much higher, infinitely higher meaning. It means that you may not offend anybody; you may not harbor uncharitable thought, even in connection with those you consider your enemies. To one who follows this doctrine, there are no enemies. A man who believes in the efficacy of this doctrine finds in the ultimate stage, when he is about to reach the goal, the whole world at his feet. If you express your love- Ahimsa-in such a manner that it impresses itself indelibly upon your so called enemy, he must return that love.

This doctrine tells us that we may guard the honor of those under our charge by delivering our own lives into the hands of the man who would commit the sacrilege. And that requires far greater courage than delivering of blows."

between us and you a great chasm is established

based on: Lk 16:19-31


The story of Lazarus is another parable told by Jesus to the Pharisees to indicate how wealth and power are to be used. In the modern era we have a difficult time reconciling Jesus’ profound concern for the poor with our own lives of comfort and wealth. Often we try to explain away the hard sayings of Jesus, and instead emphasize a Christianity that is based on what we believe and not the ways we demonstrate our concern for each other. I think that Jesus is challenging this logic today. He leaves no doubt about what his feelings are regarding the rich man. Luke’s gospel is filled with many of these references about the burden of being rich. I don’t think Jesus is telling us that being rich is evil, any more than being poor is virtuous. I think Jesus is challenging us to examine our values. What is it that we consider riches and wealth? This story only tells us that Lazarus was poor and that the rich man was rich. The rich man lived in comfort while Lazarus lived in the streets suffering. We don’t know anything more about the rich man other than he walked by Lazarus and the poor while he lived in comfort. I think this is the real point of this story: the rich man was unaffected by suffering and poverty. Jesus on the other hand is seen throughout Luke’s gospel as very affected by suffering and poverty. Earlier in Luke’s gospel Jesus tells the Pharisees that, "what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God." We see this being illustrated today in this parable. The real sin for the rich man is that he values material comfort more than he does concern for his fellow man. If we value comfort and status more than we do concern for the poor, then our values are not aligned with Jesus. In Luke’s gospel Jesus has a social agenda. He is not satisfied with just easing the suffering of the poor, but he is actually interested in changing the social structure of society that permits this poverty to go on. His desire is to create a new social order that is based on concern for the suffering and the poor. St. John Chrysostom says, "The rich man is a kind of steward of the money which is owed for distribution to the poor...For his own goods are not his own, but belong to his fellow servants." In other words, the rich man serves as society’s social welfare system. Jesus has entrusted us with fulfilling his vision for a new social order that is based on concern for the poor and the suffering. These are Jesus’ values. They must be ours too!

Jesus tells us that a great chasm exists between the rich and the poor. It is so great a chasm that one cannot cross from one to the other. The chasm is so great that is exists beyond this age and this time and continues to separate us beyond this life. Here we see the mercy of Jesus in action as he provides comfort to the poor and suffering, but where is the mercy of Jesus for those who are rich? Are we left to believe that Jesus has no mercy for those who are rich? While Jesus could be loving and comforting, we see that he is also capable of being harsh and condemning and especially when he challenges the social institutions that support continued suffering. We must recall that Jesus’ method of compassion is the cross. Jesus compassion is the denial of the self and the desires of the self. The great chasm that exists is between those who are concerned only with themselves, and those whose concern is for the poor and suffering. It is so great a chasm that it cannot be crossed. The only way over this great chasm is an interior change of heart that results in a change of focus away from ourselves toward those who are suffering and poor. If we cannot make this transformation in our own lives, then Jesus tells us, "between us and you a great chasm is established."

Guide to a Bodhisattva’s Way of Life - Shantideva

From the Bodhisattvacharyavatara by Shantideva
(Guide to a Bodhisattva’s Way of Life)
translated by Steven Batchelor (©Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1979)

There is no evil like hatred,
And no fortitude like patience.
Thus I should strive in various ways
To meditate on patience.

My mind will not experience peace
If it fosters painful thoughts of hatred.
I shall find no joy or happiness;
Unable to sleep, I shall feel unsettled.

Having found its fuel of mental unhappiness
In the prevention of what I wish for
And in the doing of what I do not want,
Hatred increases and then destroys me.

Therefore I should totally eradicate
The fuel of this enemy;
For this enemy has no other function
Than that of causing me harm.

If in those who encounter me
An unfaithful or an angry thought arises,
May that eternally become the source
For fulfilling all their wishes.

May all who say bad things to me
Or cause me harm,
And those who mock and insult me
Have the fortune to fully awaken.

May I be a protector to those without protection
A leader for those who journey
And a boat, a bridge, a passage
For those desiring the further shore.

May I be an island for those who seek one
And a lamp for those desiring light,
May I be a bed for all who wish to rest
And a slave for all who want a slave.

May I be a wishing jewel, a magic vase,
Powerful mantras and great medicine,
May I become a wish-fulfilling tree
And a cow of plenty for the world.

Just like space
And the great elements such as earth,
May I always support the life
Of all the boundless creatures.

And until they pass away from pain
May I also be the source of life
For all the realms of varied beings
That reach until the end of space.

May the pain of every living creature
Be completely cleared away.

May I be the doctor and the medicine
And may I be the nurse
For all sick beings in the world
Until everyone is healed.

May a rain of food and drink descend
To clear away the pain of thirst and hunger
And during the aeon of famine
May I myself change into food and drink.

May I become an inexhaustible treasure
For those who are poor and destitute;
May I turn into all things they could need
And may these be placed close beside them.

Without any sense of loss
I shall give up my body and enjoyments
As well as all my virtues of the three times
For the sake of benefiting them all.

By giving up all, sorrow is transcended
and my mind will realise the sorrowless state.
It is best that I now give everything to all beings
In the same way as I shall at death.

For as long as space exists
And sentient beings endure,
May I too remain,
To dispel the misery of the world.

Jungian Mysticism

The following quotes are from:

Mysticism in the Analytical Psychology of Carl Jung and the Yoga Psychology of Patanjali: A Comparative Study by Harold Coward.
Philosophy East and West, Vol. 29, No. 3. (Jul., 1979), pp. 323-336.

As Jung puts it,
God is the union of the opposites, the uniting of the torn asunder, the conflict
is redeemed in the Cross. So Przywara says: 'God appears in the cross', that
is he manifests himself as the crucified Christ. The man who wishes to reach
this unity in God, to make God real in himself, can only attain this through
the Imitatio Christi, that is he must take up his cross and accept the conflict
of the world and stand in the center of the opposites.

The Christian during contemplation would never say, "I am Christ"
but will confess with Paul, "Not I, but Christ liveth in me" [The Buddhist]
sutra, however, says: "Thou wilt know that thou art the Buddha."
At bottom both statements express a fundamental sense of unity, but in Jung's
view, the way the unity is experienced is altogether different. The Buddhist
statement "Thou art the Buddha" or the Hindu Upanisadic teaching "I am
Brahman" requires complete removal of the individual ego or ahamkara. The
Western statement "Christ liveth in me" implies not a destruction of the ego
but rather an invasion or possession by God so that the individual ego continues
to exist only now as servant of the Lord.

The preceding review of Jungian psychology and Patanjali's yoga shows both
points of agreement and difference. Both authors agree with the definition
of mystical experience presented by the philosophers as being
characterized by a loss of the sense of finite ego and a corresponding increased
identification with a transcendent spiritual reality. But there was definite
disagreement about the degree of ego loss which occurs and about the kind
of psychological process which is mainly responsible for the mystic's identification
with the larger transcendent reality.

In the face of the earlier comparative psychological study, we find ourselves
left with what is perhaps a new and expanded version of Stace's question,
"Does mystical experience point to an objective reality or is it merely a subjective
phenomenon?" Now the psychological question must be added, "Can
there be mystical experience without an individual ego? Or put another way,
"Is unlimited consciousness of the fullness of reality psychologically possible?"

what the world needs is human beings who are free

"You know, sirs, what this world needs is not politicians or more engineers, but free human beings. Engineers and scientists may be necessary, but it seems to me that what the world needs is human beings who are free, who are creative, who have no fear. And most of us are ridden with fear. If you can go profoundly into fear and really understand it, you will come out with innocency, so that your mind is clear. That is what we need, and that is why it is very important to understand how to look at a fact, how to look at your fear. That is the whole problem—not how to get rid of fear, not how to be courageous, not what to do about fear, but to be fully with the fact." ---- J Krishnamurti

Honor Seat

o humble Lord who is dying upon a cross
I sit watching at your feet,
never recognizing you up on the honor seat.
I sit in comfort on my seat of shame
I watch in horror
you bleeding upon me.

where have you bled today
as I watch in shame?
you held a banquet, and invited the poor and lame
I held a banquet and slaughtered the lamb

you who hang from the cross so high
shedding your blood upon humanity
I demand you come down from there
before I pierce your side with my lance again.
live amongst the poor and crippled no more
walk among us as the proud do
so I can homage you too!

I have hung you high up on the cross
stripped you and beat you
and still I cannot humble you more
who is fastened up on the honor seat

a reflection based upon a reading from Lk 14; 1, 7-14.

TAKE AND RECEIVE

"Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will - all that I have and call my own. You have given it to me. To You, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what You will. Give me only Your love and Your grace. That is enough for me."

prayer from Retreat Manual from Manresa on the Mississippi, Convent Louisiana.

the sparrow sings

still, the sparrow sings
as the brook trickles by
destiny unknown brings
no grand hope for success

the sparrow sings still
as the brook trickles by
origin unknown thrills
without pretense

it is not a place
it is not a time
the sparrow sings
the brook trickles by

I Have Come To Set The Earth On Fire

I think this gospel reading could be classified as another hard saying of Jesus from Nazareth. Every time we try to put Jesus into a box he seems to break out and challenge us. The great temptation is always to explain away his behavior or his hard sayings, but to do so is an attempt to make Jesus behave up to, or should I say down to our expectations. It is easy to want to classify Jesus as the peace-maker, but this gospel account contradicts that image. If we were to read this passage from the Quaran it might easily reinforce our perceptions of the warrior prophet Mohammed. But when we find these sayings from Jesus we want to minimize them or explain them away. To engage Jesus we must avoid this impulse and be challenged by him.

Often we have heard some say that people are divided by those who profess their faith in Jesus and those who do not. This is not unique to Christianity for we find the same tempation to separate people by faith proclamations in other faiths too. However, this is not the challenge Jesus has laid before us today. Jesus is challenging us with a proclamation of God’s kingdom. The separation will come as a result of how we are found behaving towards each other. The separation is a result of those who beat their servants, and those who do not. The separation occurs as a result of our lifestyle choices. Do we live in a state where we are gorging ourselves in exuberant lifestyles, or are we found prudent and humble?

In today's gospel we find Jesus saying that he has come to set the earth on fire. He obviously does not mean this in a literal sense, but in reference to his impending crucifixion. The fire Jesus has come to set is the proclamation of God’s kingdom which is a life based upon God’s will. It is a selfless lifestyle that ultimately will result in the surrender of Jesus’ life upon the cross. He is to shed his blood and die, then it will be time for each of us to make our own decision regarding Jesus and this decision will separate us regardless of our previous relationships with each other. We must each make our own decision regarding Jesus and God's kingdom and what is right and wrong. No-one else can do that for us. Jesus will ask us, " Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?" We cannot rely on our parents or the church to make these decision for us. Our faith must not be the faith of our fathers, but it must be our own faith lived and expressed in total freedom. Each of us must make our own decisions in our own heart, in our own time, and in our own way. The decision we are making is not a faith proclamation, but a decision on how we will respond to each other and treat other. It a decision whether we should surrender our will or hold onto it and even impose it upon others or not.

This passage cannot be understood separate from the context in which it is written. We recall that in the passage prior to this we find Jesus teaching a parable of preparedness. It is the parable of the master's return from a wedding. This passage from Luke's gospel is a demonstration of how Jesus reacts to those who continue to treat others unjustly, who beat their servants not expecting the return of the master. Jesus is telling us to be prepared today for the master's return and to live today as if this were the day of the master's return.

Often we read this gospel passage today and think that what Jesus is demanding of us is a simple faith statement, but that is such a shallow reading of this passage and of the person of Jesus. Instead what Jesus is interested in is seeing the servant who knows the will of God and is found doing it. What is this baptism of fire Jesus awaits but the living out of the will of God with all of its implications and consequences? The division that comes is a real division. It is not a division between people who profess one faith or another, but a division that exists between those who know the will of God and are found living it, and those who do not and are preoccupied with living the illusionary life of profit, power, and pleasure. Our world is still found ablaze with the fire Jesus has set by his act of submission. The challenge of the cross is not an event of the past, but forever in the present as every moment we must make our choice anew about the way we treat each other. If we look for a simple life of peace that is based on some false sense of conflict avoidance, then we will be disappointed by the challenge of Jesus. The peace Jesus offers is the peace of submission. It is the peace of the crucifixion.

A reflection based upon a reading of LK 12: 49-53

The Source Is Within You

Everything you see has its roots in the unseen world.
The forms may change, yet the essence remains the same.
Every wonderful sight will vanish, every sweet word will fade,
But do not be disheartened,
The source they come from is eternal, growing,
Branching out, giving new life and new joy.
Why do you weep?
The source is within you
And this whole world is springing up from it.

~ Rumi ~

Hafiz: I Have Come Into The World To See This

I have come into this world to experience this:

men so true to love they would rather

die before speaking

an unkind

word,

men so true their lives are His covenant – the promise of hope.

I have come into this world to see this:

the sword drop from men’s hands

even at the height

of their arc of

rage

because we have finally realized

there is just one flesh

we can wound.

Some sayings of Meister Eckhart

"Whoever possesses God in their being, has him in a divine manner, and he shines out to them in all things; for them all things taste of God and in all things it is God's image that they see.""People should not worry as much about what they do but rather about what they are. If they and their ways are good, then their deeds are radiant. If you are righteous, then what you do will also be righteous. We should not think that holiness is based on what we do but rather on what we are, for it is not our works which sanctify us but we who sanctify our works.""It is a fair trade and an equal exchange: to the extent that you depart from things, thus far, no more and no less, God enters into you with all that is his, as far as you have stripped yourself of yourself in all things. It is here that you should begin, whatever the cost, for it is here that you will find true peace, and nowhere else." Talks of Instruction

The Pagan Philosper's Quest for Holiness

Virtue was understood to be that which leads one to God, through the interior transformation of one's being. "Without virtue," Plotinus said, "God is only a word." The practice of asceticism and the cultivation of virtue, as Plotinus understood it, was meant to lead to an extremely simple attitude. The goal of the philosophical life, then, was not to remove oneself from society, but to be so transformed inwardly that one was able to live within society with a freedom which came from a simple regard for "the One."
Plotinus claims that "each of us is an intellectual cosmos," that the journey of the soul is "a voyage of self-discovery ... [I]f we wish to know the Real, we have only to look within ourselves." Such self-exploration teaches one to distinguish between a lower self-consciousness - the ego's awareness of its own activity - and a higher consciousness - the secret inner person who is "continually in the intellectual realm." Because the hidden center of this inner self coincides with the center of all things, the self may hope at times to achieve total unification, that is, "become God" or, as Plotinus says, to be God.

DOUGLAS BURTON-CHRISTIE:
The Pagan Philosopher's Quest for Holiness: Plotinus and his Circle

everyone who asks, receives

Jesus assures us that whatsoever you ask, you will be given. The door you knock upon will be opened and what you seek, you will find. In the past I had understood this passage differently than I do now. I thought of it as simply an assurance that God would answer our prayers, especially if we are persistent. I thought of this as a passage that promised us that God would give us good things if only we asked for good things. This past week or so as I began to reflect upon it differently. I began to understand that Jesus is teaching us basic spiritual truths. I think Jesus is teaching us the truth that we both individually and collectively live the spiritual reality that we create for ourselves. If we seek peace, then we will find peace. If we seek love, then we will find love. If we seek fame, then we will find fame. If we seek financial well-being, then that too we will too often find. The problem is that each choice has its own consequences. We are living in a world that has been created by the consequences of the choices and actions that we have made both individually and collectively. Our world is the result of the choices and decisions we individually and collectively make.

I think we need to reflect upon what it is that we are seeking in our society and in our personal lives. Our corporations continue to grow and prosper while we have less and less time for each other. More and more of our lives are being consumed with maintaining our lifestyles and providing for our families. I wonder why that is. We live in a democracy where we the people make the choices about the kind of society we live in. Lenin is reported to have said that religion is the opium of the masses. I wonder if the opium of the masses isn't a little material comfort instead. What values will we compromise in order to maintain our standard of living? In Darfur hundreds of thousands of people have been killed. In the streets of Chicago children are shot as they walk down the street. In Iran 12 people were hanged for alleged crimes. In Afghanistan South Korean aid workers are murdered by those they were there to give aid to. In Iraq thousands have suffered and died in this alleged war on terrorism that seems so much worse than the war of terrorism. What is it we are asking for? What is it that we are seeking? What doors are we knocking upon?

I think this gospel passage has to be more than a source of comfort. It must challenge us too. Surely Jesus is not just teaching us to only ask for good things, even if they are good spiritual things, while we neglect everything else that is going on in the world. I don't think Jeuss is telling us that God will reward us for our self concern while there is so much suffering and injustice within the kingdom. No, I think that Jesus is teaching us that we can approach these daunting matters that confront us with confidence and hope. Peace is not a hopeless dream for the idealists of the world. It is not our destiny to kill each other. Our true human nature is not violence even if it at times it seems so. There really is another way and that way is the way of prayer. But prayer is not a selfish request line to God. Prayer is a time to reflect on the kind of kingdom that we seek instead of the kind of kingdom we live in. If we are to ask for God’s kingdom to come we must have an idea of what kind of kingdom we are asking for. We must begin with this idea of God’s kingdom and God’s justice when we pray. If we are to seek forgiveness, then we must give forgiveness. It is not possible to live in forgiveness while harboring hate and resentment. If we are to seek love, then we must live in love. We must start in prayer and then we must become that prayer which we pray much like our physical bodies become the bread that we eat. We become what we consume in our heart and our mind and our body. We are the result of our thoughts and dreams and the actions they give rise to. We can judge the kind of doors we are knocking on by judging the decisions we make on how we spend our time, our energy, our love and our money. Every choice we make is constantly being manifested in our individual lives and ultimately in our collective life. We are living the life we choose. We are responsible for our actions and the impact it has in our lives and in our society. If we are at war with each other, then it is because we have chosen to be at war with each other. The really good news for us is that regardless of how hopeless it might seem, the situation is never without hope. We can make different choices and it begins with the kind of prayer life we have. It always begins with prayer. Our hopes and dreams must be based on God’s idea of mercy and justice and not our own. It is God’s kingdom that we are to seek not ours. As we redirect our prayers to reflect these values, then our world will begin to change. It is not necessary to live in fear and hopelessness. It is not necessary to settle for a little television as the basis for our lives. Our lives can be meaningful and filled with hope and love. There are other options for us, and we can make different decisions about our personal lives as well as for our society. It begins by examining the values we have chosen and the direction we are headed. We must begin where we are at, then we must become aware of what it is we are asking for, and what it is we are seeking. We must reflect upon what kind of doors we are knocking on. Are we looking for purpose filled lives that are directed at facilitating the coming of God’s kingdom, or are we seeking a life that is built around securing our own kingdom? Jesus offers us assurance that the Father in heaven will give his Holy Spirit - his Holy Breath to those who ask. This breath of God will nourishes us and give us the strength to persist in prayer and build up our strength so we can seek not for our kingdom, but for the kingdom of God to come.

bases upon a reflection on Lk 11:1-13

After spending 11 years in prison Al Hallaq was tortured and crucified by the Abbasid rulers. There are many accounts which say that even under torture Al Hallaj was calm, detached and was willing to forgivee those who tortured him.

Before Al Hallaj was put to death he said:

Now stands no more between Truth and me
Or reasoned demonstration,
Or proof of revelation;
Now, brightly blazing full, Truth's lumination
Each flickering, lesser light.

Al Halláj was a legendary Iranian Sufi master who lived between 858 - 922 AD.

I do not cease swimming in the seas of love,
rising with the wave, then descending;
now the wave sustains me, and then I sink beneath it;
love bears me away where there is no longer any shore.
- (Diwan al-Hallaj, M. 34)



" For your sake, I hurry over land and water:
For your sake, I cross the desert and split the mountain in two,
And turn my face from all things,
Until the time I reach the place
Where I am alone with You."

To Reach God -Al Hallaj

"To Reach God From:Perfume of the Desert: Edited: Andrew Harvey

The Sunrise Ruby
In the early morning hour,just before dawn,
lover and beloved wake and take a drink of water.
She ask, "Do you love me or yourself more?
Really, tell the absolute truth."
He says, "There’s nothing left of me.
I’m like a ruby held up to the sunrise.
Is it still a stone, or a world made of redness?
It has no resistance to sunlight."
This is how Hallaj said, I am God, and told the truth!
The ruby and the sunrise are one.
Be courageous and discipline yourself.
Completely become hearing and ear,
and wear this sun-ruby as an earring.
Work. Keep digging your well.
Don’t think about getting off from work.
Water is there somewhere.
Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that is a ring on the door.
Keep knocking, and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who’s there.

The Essential Rumi Coleman Barks

i search for signs of peace. i believe if you search for peace you will find peace. i believe if you ask for peace you will be given peace. In this day of violence where we are being taught to be suspicious of each other i have chosen to look for peace amongst those we are being taught to suspect. Below is a portion of a poem from a Muslim perspective on Jesus written by Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, from "Christ after the Crucifixion." Ironically Al-Sayyab was born in Iraq and lived between 1926 - 1964. So he is a fairly recent poet. One whose voice hopefully represents many people both Muslim and non-Muslim. I think if we are to be free of our suspicion, we will have to spend time at the feet of Jesus and listen to him. After all Jesus is a significant person that both faiths share in common. I think if we do seek Jesus we will find his presence amongst the crucified of Iraq and throughout the suffering in the middle east. If we are to experience peace in our time it will not be at the end of a gun, whether it be an Islamic fundamentalistic gun, or an American fundamentalistic gun. Freedom cannot be imposed on a nation any more than an ideology. I think we all share a hope for inner peace and freedom that is born of a common human experience. Often we express ourselves differently and we misunderstand and are misunderstood, but I believe we all share the same desire for expression.

I was in the beginning, and in the beginning was Poverty.
I died that bread may be eaten in my name; that they plant me in season.
How many lives will I live! For in every furrow of earth
I have become a future, I have become a seed.
I have become a race of men, in every human heart
A drop of my blood, or a little drop.

After they nailed me and I cast my eyes towards the city
I hardly recognised the plain, the wall, the cemetery;
As far as the eye could see, it was somethingLike a forest in bloom.
Wherever the vision could reach,there was a cross, a grieving mother
The Lord be sanctified! This is the city about to give birth.

a journey home

i searched frantically for the ever elusive more
more time and more space for more me
more clothes than those I can wear
a home with more rooms to isolate in
televisions and computers to numb my brain
whatever happened to appreciation for the earthworm and sparrow?
i leave for vacation lands in far away places
where the same sun sets and rises
on scenes no grander than those I leave behind
we pass in airports seeking new experiences
you seeking mine, me seeking yours
perhaps it would be better to know our own a little deeper
and just be a little more present with those more near to us
when will i learn how much is enough?
Here is enough to sustain an eternal life
with an infinity of joy and happiness
if only I will take a moment to be present with it.

i travel to distant lands, but I always return here to home.

there is need of only one

Based on a reading of Luke's gospel, Chapter 10: 38-42

I am mary the listener
content and in love.
i am martha the servant
anxious and jealous.
I am jesus the witness
steadfast and ever present.
listening aware I AM one
as he and his father are too
anxiously despairing
i am apart, separated by two

“you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing.”

Based on a reading of Luke's gospel, Chapter 10: 38-42

Jesus lays bare the heart of the gospel to Martha and to us. What is this one thing that is needed? So often we hear this passage being explained as a comparison of the contemplative life with that of the life of service. At first glance it appears that Jesus is telling Martha that Mary has chosen well. It may even appear that Mary has made the better choice. When we first enter this scene we find Martha welcoming Jesus, but quickly burdened with service while Mary remains listening. Is it jealousy that has caused Martha to ask Jesus to rebuke Mary? Perhaps the lesson is about welcoming and what is required of welcoming. Welcoming is a spirit of receiving another with joy and being present with them. In today’s reading we find Martha welcoming, but quickly turning her energy to service. Has she denied herself the moment of presence and in return been denied the peace and tranquility that it brings? Does she serve seeking reward and recognition instead of finding joy in her service?

This story is juxtaposed in an interesting place in Luke’s gospel. The reading before is the famous story of the Samaritan found beaten along the road, and the passage to follow is Jesus’ teaching on how to pray. Again this relationship between service and prayer is found. If we search for clues in the story of the Samaritan to the answer regarding the question, what is the one thing there is need of, then we find the answer to be love. Love of God and love of neighbor. If we look to the Lord’s prayer reading we find that askers and seekers and knockers are rewarded for their effort. Those that ask, and seek, and knock are rewarded what they are looking for. We find the assurance that good things are given those who seek good things. In between these two passages we find Mary at Jesus’ feet listening, and Martha busy at work serving. It is not the listening that Jesus honors anymore than Martha's service that he denounces. Jesus is no more honored by one listening at his feet, than one serving. Jesus merely is the witness, the observer who states what is obvious. His statement is not a judgement. It is a simple observation that Mary finds the better part. She has found what she has sought and Martha has not, or perhaps she also has. We are rewarded according to what we seek. Seek love and be rewarded with love. Seek peace and find peace. Deny yourself and you are denied.

The one thing that there is need of is love. Service in the spirit of love is equally as fulfilling and rewarding as contemplation and prayer in the spirit of love. It is by being present that we learn to love and find the grace to serve. In welcoming we become present. We sit at the feet and listen carefully. But that does not mean listening is better than service, only the attitude must be the same. Our service cannot be in a spirit of self-denial which makes us bitter. It would be better not to serve than to serve in such a spirit. Our service must be as fulfilling as our listening because it must feed us as fully. We do not serve for the benefit of others. We serve because we are in need of service. There is no separation for Jesus between our neighbor and between God. In Mathew's gospel Jesus tells us that the least we have done to our brothers and sisters we have done to him. It is not an act of denial that is required. There is no reward for self denial, only for love and the reward is the gift itself. It is in love that we experience the divine whether we are in service or we are listening. If we are not being fed and nourished, then it is time to sit at his feet and listen.

The journey begins here and now. It must always begin here and now, there is no other place or time to begin. It must always end here and now too, there is no other place or time to go. We always were here in the now and always will be. We just didn't know it. The question for us must be what do we do with it? Will we try helplessly to escape back to a past that is too far gone, or run helplessly after a future that never comes. How will we define our moment, or should we call it a movement from the present moment to the present moment? A walking without steps.

Seeking for God or truth I find there is no truth, no God, but that is wrong too! Truth can only be sought, never found or possessed. Truth just is and its relevance is self explanatory -truth just is. An imposed truth is truth no more. To say there is a God is to suggest that there is something more, and to say there is no God is to minimize the significance of what there is. There cannot be anything more than what there is, but that is not the same as to suggest that there is less. There can be no other place or time for God other than the here and now. This is all there is, this present moment, this here and now, but It is enough!

Let the journey begin here and now, and let it end here and now. Let us travel to where we already are and stand at this pinnacle to gaze upon all of its beauty and splendor and wonder. It is enough!

Wonder Light, pure and simple you enlighten!
in vain I struggle to contain what you illuminate
to find that the illuminated cannot be contained
instead I find the enlightened is illuminated.

O Lord! May I not grasp for what is not,
instead be grasped by what is!